Maldives crisis deepens as government defies supreme court

Judges ruled that imprisoned opposition leaders should be released, leading to a standoff and street protests

The political crisis in the Maldives has deepened after the island nation’s government said it would not obey a supreme court order to free a group of imprisoned opposition leaders.

The surprise judicial ruling last week has led to an increasingly tense standoff between the supreme court and the government of President Yameen Abdul Gayoom, with protests spilling into the streets of the capital, Malé, and soldiers in riot gear deployed to the parliament building to prevent MPs from meeting.